January 30, 2025
- Message from Guest Contributor
- Upcoming Winter MAP Assessments
- The Book Fair is Coming - Time to set up the eWallet
- Diversity Equity and Inclusion
- Career Day
- Quarter 2 Tuffy Award Winners
- Family Support for Students with Disabilities
- Fifth Graders: Hammond Middle School Information Night Tonight
- Fifth Grade Baby Pictures Needed
- Outdoor Recess and Weather Conditions
- PTA Meeting Dates
- Important Dates
A Message from our Guest Contributor: Krista Barron, School Counselor
The start to 2025 has brought with it a lot of significant national and world-wide news stories, much of which can be distressing for adults, who have prior knowledge, experiences, and logical thinking abilities to process the news. Without context or fully developed logical thinking abilities, children do not have the same ability to process the information they hear on the news. Here are some things to consider when exposing children to media coverage:
- Monitor what children are looking at on tv and the internet; if they are watching news coverage, make sure you are watching with them to know what they have heard and to evaluate their reactions.
- Have a conversation with them about what they heard, in order to provide necessary (and age-appropriate) context, but also to correct any misperceptions or false assumptions they may have.
- If information they hear is upsetting to them:
- Validate their feelings, acknowledging that you understand why they are feeling the way they are in response to the news.
- Reassure them where you can, but don't offer promises that you can't reasonably make;
- Limit their exposure to coverage about that event going forward; many children operate with an "out of sight, out of mind" mentality.
- If the information is upsetting to you as an adult, assume it will be upsetting to your child. If you need to have conversations with other adults about the subject, do so when your child is not within hearing distance.
- If your child isn't exposed to news coverage, consider whether you actually need to have a conversation with them at all. Most likely they are fine, if not better off, not knowing the information. If you feel there is something they do need to know, limit it to the absolute minimum information they need to know.
If you are aware that your child is overly distressed about anything that they heard, do not hesitate to let your child's teacher and/or school counselors know that they are having big feelings, as this can impact their ability to focus and function in school.
Krista Barron
School Counselor
Upcoming Winter MAP ASSESSMENTS
Students in grades 1-5 will take the Measured Academic Progress (MAP) assessment during the month of January or February. The data from the MAP assessment will help schools and teachers measure your student’s academic progress in the areas of Reading and Math. The MAP test does not affect grades and the difficulty adjusts depending on how your child responds. It is normal for students to only answer about half the questions correctly. To learn more about the MAP assessment, please visit: https://www.nwea.org/the-map-suite/common-questions-families/
Teachers in grades 1-5 will administer the assessment during the following testing window dates. If your child is absent, makeup testing will be offered when they return to school. Grade Level Teams/Teachers will share specific dates or changes to dates with you via Canvas announcements.
Grades 1-4 Testing Window: January 27th-February 27th
The Book Fair is Coming!
Parents, use the Scholastic Book Fair website to set up an eWallet for your children using the eWallet button directly on the website. The eWallet is open for set up now. Purchases will be made during students' related arts media classes the week of Feb. 10-14.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Here is the February newsletter from the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. There are resources and information for Black History Month and the Lunar New Year.
Prepare to Celebrate Women’s History Month
The Howard County Women’s Commission is holding a student essay and poster contest to celebrate Women’s History Month. Prizes will be rewarded.
Link to contest info: https://www.howardcountymd.gov/sites/default/files/2025-01/CFW2025ContestEntryPacket.pdf Entries are due February 21, 2025.
Career Day
We are looking for volunteers to speak to classes for Career Day on Thursday, March 13th. Please fill out this form if you are interested in coming in to share more about your career. You will be asked to share about your career for about 15-25 minutes (depending on grade) and answer questions students may have. We will reach back out once we gather responses with sign-ups for specific times.
https://forms.gle/Cj6bysvXvyKGPNeU6
Quarter 2 Tuffy Award Winners!
Congratulations to our 2nd quarter award winners. Students are nominated by staff and then randomly selected.
The Tuffy Award goes to students who are consistently showing the 3 Rs.
The Achiever Award goes to students who show growth, improvement, and consistently trying their best.
Tuffy's 3 R's Award Winners: Claire Watkins, Aria Patel, Zoe Gile, Jihun Kim, Claire Renzi, Lanie Lidinsky
Achiever Award Winners: Elia Giardiello, Marcus Christ, Maeve Cantrell, Amiya Henry, Mariah Bozai, Nathan Notes
Family Support & Resource Center for students with Disabilities
The Family Support & Resource Center assists families in advocating for their child with a disability. Services include:
- Workshops for parents and caregivers
- Guidance in the IEP/IFSP process
- Lending library including disability and special education related books and DVDs
- Facilitation of parent groups
- Weekly emails with upcoming events for you and your student
- Service, community and recreational resources to support the specific needs of your family
Contact FSRC@hcpss.org. Services are free
Fifth Graders: Hammond Middle School Information Night Tonight
For those students who will be attending Hammond Middle School:
Tuesday, January 21 from 6-7pm in the HMS cafeteria will be the informational meeting for rising 6th graders.
For those students who will be attending Patuxent Valley Middle School
On January 22 Patuxent Valley Middle School held their Rising 6th Grade Family Orientation.
Fifth Graders: Baby Pictures Needed
Outdoor Recess and Weather Conditions
Cold weather has arrived!!! We wanted to remind you that students will still be going
outside for recess each day. Please make sure you send your child to school with warm
clothes. All clothing needs to be labeled with your child's name. Below you will find the
HCPSS criteria we consider when having outdoor activities.
• Temperature and humidity
• Wind chill
• Heat index and air quality
• Age of students
• Length of time outdoors
• Adequacy of the children’s clothing
• Condition of the playground
• Falling precipitation (more than a sprinkle or mist)
• Thunder and lightning
Generally, it is assumed that students will be outside for recess, physical education, or
any other outdoor activity when the temperature combined with the wind chill is not less
than 20 degrees Fahrenheit or the heat index is less than 95.
Future PTA Meetings
March 11th All begin at 7:15
May 13th
Important Dates
2/4 Report cards available at 4pm through Connect
2/4 Club Photos
2/5 3-Hour Early Dismissal for students. HES dismisses at 12:55.
2/5 Parent-Teacher Conferences. School dismisses 3 hours early HES dismisses at 12:55.
2/5 PTA Restaurant Night: Chuck E. Cheese
2/6 Parent-Teacher Conferences; School dismisses 3 hours early HES dismisses at 12:55.
2/7 No School for students
2/10-2/14 Book Fair
2/10-2/14 Kindness Week
2/17 Presidents’ Day - Schools and Offices closed
2/27 Talent Show